Female Genital Mutilation refers to the procedure involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or injury to the female genital organs. The term covers a range of procedures, which are also referred to as female circumcision and introcision. "Among communities that practise FGM, the procedure is a highly valued ritual, whose purpose is to mark the transition from childhood to womanhood. In these traditional societies, FGM represents part of the rites of passage or initiation ceremonies intended to impart the skills and information a woman will need to fulfil her duties as a wife and mother (In Depth: Razor's Edge... Article)." The ultimate function of the practice, however severe the case, is to reduce the a woman's sexual desire and ensure her virginity. If she refuses she is ostracized from the community; she will be considered as a child and will never inherit the roles, rights and status of a woman so long as she refuses. In practicing communities, there is no place for a woman who has not undergone the procedure.
Female Genital Mutilation poses as both the lock and the door. It's an open door into womanhood and the lock so that sexual immorality can't get in, but depending on which side of the door she's been shown it could look like that or it could look like an open door for disease and pain and the lock that keeps her separated from her freedom to say "no."
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